His first mark in the stat sheet came on a dump-off pass wrapped around a hard-charging defender to second-year center Meyers Leonard for Portland's first two points, and the highlight plays kept coming as he found a flow on the court -- a pull up 3-pointer about a foot outside the line, a sharp crossover at the top of the key that left Phoenix's Archie Goodwin well in the dust, a well-timed and in-step spin move around a defender in the paint for an easy 2.
"Coming into the NBA, I knew I'd be able to score the basketball," McCollum said. "I'm not worried about that. It's more about defending, keeping your turnovers low and finding the right guys on offense."

The two takeaway conclusions from McCollum's successes: he has an innate slipperiness on the ball that serves him well, and he has the confidence and technique to find points in the paint without getting all the way to the rim.
By slipperiness, I'm not referring exclusively to his play of the night, a helter-skelter, yet somehow still controlled, Globetrotters-esque sequence that saw him lose the ball and his balance multiple times before weaving through the chaos to sink a calm mid-range shot. He just possesses a creative handle and a level of body control that makes him unpredictable when facing up against a defender. He manufactures his clean looks, fake by fake, and then calmly makes use of them. He's not afraid to lean at all angles along the way and yet he eventually comes back to even keel. Against Marshall, he really had his way, getting all the way to the hoop along prosperous lines and finishing at the rim with good burst.

With 15 of his 22 points coming in the first half, the No. 10 overall pick looks like a keeper for the Blazers. Like Damian Lillard did last year, McCollum drew oohs and ahh with several moves, including one particular step-back 3 after crossing up his defender. Will be interesting to see if the Blazers PG can continue his run and make a push for the top rung.

"He showed why he's here," Phoenix Suns second-year guard Kendall Marshall said about McCollum. "He showed why he's the 10th pick. He's a very good player and he's going to be better in the future. I'm looking forward to watching him and competing against him in the future."
Just through 30 minutes of play, McCollum was self-assured enough to challenge an official and bold enough to lead a more veteran teammate — the skills that made Damian Lillard speak his name when asked three months ago by general manager Neil Olshey who the Blazers should draft.
"I don't know why everybody's surprised with his confidence and how he's playing," Lillard said. "I've watched him for a couple years now, and I watched him the whole camp we had in Portland. He was consistent the whole time, making shots. He played the same everyday. So when he came out here I expected him to do the same thing."

McCollum was often called this year's Damian Lillard leading up to the NBA Draft. Saturday night he did his best Lillard impersonation, scoring 22 points and dishing out four assists. McCollum did a lot his damage at the rim, constantly getting by defenders to the basket.

There is no pressure to flourish this season. But there is an increased level of expectations after a rookie season of 5.5 points and 3.7 rebounds in 17.5 minutes playing behind J.J. Hickson, who has joined the Nuggets as a free agent.
“Of course,” Leonard said Saturday after the Trail Blazers lost to the Suns 83-69 at Thomas & Mack Center. “As a competitor, I always want to be in there. Last year, it was a little hard, I think, for the coaches sometimes to stick me in there. It was kind of a whirlwind season for me. This year, I think I really have a chance to have a bigger impact. We brought in Robin Lopez. I really think his NBA-center body, practicing against him will definitely help my maturation. I just have to continue to work hard to get better."

Saturday night's game was also the first for second-year forward Thomas Robinson as a Trail Blazer. Robinson, acquired in a trade from the Houston Rockets, finished with six points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots in 27 minutes.
"I saw a grown man a lot of times," said Vanterpool of Robinson. "Thomas really just has to dig the grown man effort all the time. He has to be consistent with his effort. His motor, sometimes it goes up really at a high level and then other times it starts to wain. I just want him to be as consistent as possible with that type of motor and intensity, but he's really strong down there."

The Blazers are back at it Sunday at 3:30 p.m. against the Los Angeles Lakers.